Florian Znaniecki: A short reminiscence

This brief account of the author's interactions with Florian Znaniecki centers on the scholarly impact of Thomas and Znaniecki's five-volume Polish Peasant in Europe and America and on Znaniecki's early contributions to the sociology of science.     

Reminiscences of a sociologist: Rudolf Herberle.

The author tells of his drift from law and economics into sociology at a time when this field was not yet institutionalized in his native Germany. He describes his research experiences in European countries and in America. He shows how working on a variety of seemingly disconnected subjects contributed to his education as a sociologist. He also discusses his experiences as teacher and author during the first years of the Hitler regime.     

Creative analogy and language evolution

The English good and intensifier is discussed as an example of a form that is acceptable even though ungrammatical, both synchronically and diachronically. The construction is analyzed as a case of creative analogy: the extension of a grammatically generated form to a new function, one for which it has no direct grammatical justification. From the perspective of a dynamic theory of language acquisition and evolution, it is argued that such forms constitute a new sort of evidence regarding the nature of language universals.Previous versions of this work were presented to the LSA summer meetings in 1974 and in Carroll (1975, 1978).     

Merton as Harvard sociologist: Engagement,thematic continuities,and institutional linkages

In this paper I explore the significance of the initial decade of Robert K. Merton's graduate and professional career, from 1931, when he entered the new doctoral program in sociology at Harvard, until 1939, when he joined the Department of Sociology at Tulane University as an associate professor and acting chairperson. Drawing on archival sources, as well as the professional literature, I examine how Merton engaged the exceptionally rich, interdisciplinary context of Harvard in the 1930s, including both interpersonal networks and diverse intellectual perspectives. In particular, I identify connections between Merton's early writing, “oral publications” and teaching, and three locally developed and dominant paradigms of sociology. Following an assessment of the influence of Merton's works published from 1934 to 1939, I trace continuities between Merton's achievements at Harvard and his subsequent teaching and research at Tulane and Columbia. I conclude that a fuller appreciation of Merton's “less noticed” decade in Cambridge is indispensable for understanding his overall career, and that it clarifies linkages across sociological work at three universities in the mid‐twentieth century. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Metacognition as a Moderator of Creative Ideation and Creative Production

Recent theoretical work has called for exploration of the moderating effects of cognitive factors on the relationship between creative ideation and creative production. The Cognitive-Creative Sifting model suggests skills in processing and transforming information influence the association. This study used the Runco Ideational Behavior Scale, Metacognitive Awareness Inventory, and Creative Behavior Inventory to test the moderating effect. Medium to large moderator effects (f² = .015 to f² = .041) were observed across previous theoretically proposed aspects of metacognition. A large, statistically significant moderator effect was observed for overall metacognition (f² = .031). Observed differences across subcomponents of metacognition paralleled theoretical connections between metacognition and creativity. Further studies are suggested using more diverse creativity measures, as well as tests for other cognitive sifters. Implications for educational practice, particularly regarding the creatively gifted, are offered.     

Creative Failure: Why Can't People Solve Creative Problems

Although people attempt many creative problem solutions, in general, most creative problem-solving efforts, at least real-world efforts, fail. In the present effort, we examine the reasons creative problem-solving efforts typically fail. We argue that creative problem-solving efforts fail, in part, due to the fundamental nature of the kinds of problems that call for creative thought. However, the nature of people's creative problem-solving skills and the context in which they attempt to develop and implement creative problem solutions also results in failed attempts to solve creative problems. Based on these observations, we discuss how one might seek to develop people to encourage more success in creative problem-solving efforts.     

The Dynamics of Creative Self-Concept: Changes and Reciprocal Relations Between Creative Self-Efficacy and Creative Personal Identity

Although creative self-concept constructs are intensively studied in the creativity literature, little is known about the dynamics of their changes during the life span and the relationships between different aspects of the creative self-concept. Using a longitudinal and a cross-sequential design, this investigation aimed to test changes in two important creative self-concept constructs—creative self-efficacy and creative personal identity—over short (6 months) and longer (20 months) periods of time, while simultaneously examining reciprocal relationships between them. The results showed the short-term stability of both constructs, but they also revealed significant change over the longer period―specifically, a growth of creative self-efficacy and creative personal identity in people from late adolescence to early adulthood and a drop among older participants. Reciprocal longitudinal relationships between creative self-efficacy and creative personal identity were also demonstrated, with creative self-efficacy being a more stable predictor of creative personal identity than the reverse.     

Creative Potential and Multicultural Experiences: The Mediating Role of Creative Self-Efficacy

In two studies, one in Mexico and another one in Germany, we examined the indirect influence of self-reported multicultural experience on creative potential, through its influence on creative self-efficacy, and its direct influence on creative personal identity. In both studies, business students from Mexico and Germany completed a battery of questionnaires assessing creative self-efficacy (with two different operationalizations), creative personal identity, multicultural experiences, and a divergent thinking task designed to generate ideas to solve two different business problems. Structural equation modeling was used to test our hypotheses. Results from both studies found a positive relationship between self-reported multicultural experiences and creative personal identity. Similarly, multicultural experiences had an indirect, positive relationship with originality scores from a divergent thinking task, through its influence on creative self-efficacy. Hence, the positive influence of multicultural experience on creative potential, through creative self-efficacy, was established in two countries and with different operationalizations, trait like versus state like, of creative self-efficacy. The implications of the results were discussed.     

The Creative Identity: Creative Behavior From The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective

This paper outlines a framework for understanding the motivation of certain creative behaviors from the perspective of symbolic interactionism. The fundamental tenets of symbolic interactionism are described, followed by a discussion of the mechanics of symbolic interactionist-based role-identity theory, and how the theory can be applied to the motivation of creative behavior. The paper also addresses directions for practical application and future research in this area.     

Supporting Counselors After a Client Suicide: Creative Supervision Techniques

Many professional counselors will experience the loss of a client to suicide. The effects of this loss are explored in this article. The supervisor’s role in supporting a supervisee after a client’s suicide is presented. Additionally, creative interventions that can be used by supervisors to support supervisees after the loss of a client are provided. These creative techniques are theoretically grounded within the cognitive behavioral, solution-focused, and narrative paradigms.     

The Order Matters: Asking About Creative Activity Calibrates Creative Self-Concept

People tend to perceive and assess their own creativity in a positive, yet not always accurate, way. This study explores whether differences in self-ratings of the creative self-concept (creative self-efficacy and creative personal identity) are related to the sequence in which self-report measures are applied: the order effect. A randomly chosen half of a representative sample of Poles, contacted via a telephone interview, answered the items related to their creative self-concept first, followed by the items related to their previous creative activity. Another half of the sample completed these measures in a reversed order: The creative activity scale was completed first and then creative self-concept items were asked. The results demonstrated that people who were first asked about their previous creative activities reported a lower level of creative self-efficacy and creative personal identity than those asked about their creative self-concept first. Further analyses demonstrated that creative activity moderated this pattern: Participants without previous creative activity and those who engaged solely in everyday creative activities in the past, were susceptible to the order effect, but this effect was not observed among the participants with previous experience in art or science.     

Enhancing Creative Performance: Effects of Expected Developmental Assessment Strategies and Creative Personality

This study examined the independent and joint effects of expected developmental assessment strategies (self-administered, other-administered, and no assessment) and creative personality on individuals' creative performance. Data were collected from 68 participants who performed a role-playing task in a laboratory setting. Results showed that individuals exhibited the highest creative performance when they expected a self-administered assessment (i.e., an opportunity to assess their own work in order to develop their creativity-relevant skills) and had creative personalities.